Harper Row and Cassandra Cain: Project I
by ClaraEclair
Summary: Alternate Universe: 1 year after Batman and Robin Eternal, Mother is defeated, and Bruce is batman once again, but as for Harper Row and Cassandra Cain, they're still on their own. Harper still has not received training from the Dark Knight. Dick, Jason, Tim, and Bruce are the only ones to know about Harper's vigilante identity, until a mysterious stranger enters the city of Gotham
1. Issue 1: Wayne Crisis pt 1

[A Year After Batman and Robin Eternal]

The **Dark Knight's** large footsteps echoed throughout the long, dark hallway. His brooding expression was clearly visible, though no one saw it. Lightning cracked in the distance, splitting the sky and hurling thunder throughout the gloomy streets of Gotham City.

As rainwater trickled through the cracks in the ceiling of the abandoned factory, the Dark Knight stayed focused on what was at the end of the hallway: a wooden door, leading to the one who started it all.

As the Knight approached, the faint sound of wicked cackling bled through the air, warning the Caped Crusader of what was to come.

 _Unpredictable_ , he thought, _ruthless_ , _motiveless_.

 _Insane_.

"Master Bruce," the voice of the Knight's butler and long-time friend, Alfred J. Pennyworth, said through the communications device embedded within the Knight's cowl. His steps quickened into a speed walk, rapidly getting close to the door. "What are you doing?!" Alfred demanded as he watched the Crusader's vitals on a computer screen, from the batcave. No oral response was given, only the quickening of pace. "Master Bruce," faster. "You know what he is capable of," faster. "He will be waiting for you," faster. "He will be prepared," faster.

The Knight was now in a full sprint toward the door.

"You know that he is not afraid to--"

 ** _Bang!_**

 ** _Thud_**

On the screens, nothing.

"Master Bruce?" He called out, staring at the screens. "M-Master Bruce?" Only silence. "Bruce!" He shouted, terror filling his mind.

"Oh god..."

 ** _[One hour earlier]_**

"Alright, there you go!" A voice cheered. "You got this!" They stood, watching a friend, cheering them on and congratulating them. "C'mon, you got this."

"I know!" The friend responded. "But this is the most pain I've been in since the incident itself." They continued. "I've never struggled with anything as much as this."

"It's alright, Babs, you're almost there. Just a few more steps." The voice encouraged their friend.

The friend went step by step, slowly making their way across the small room. She had long, red hair that had been done up in a ponytail, and wore exercise clothes and running shoes. Light freckles dotted her cheekbones, and her green eyes shined in the light emitted from the ceiling. She stood between two extended bars, from one side of the room to the other, and held herself up with her arms in an attempt to walk.

Every step was agony, and her arms were quickly growing tired, but she needed to do this. If she wanted to walk ever again, she would have to persevere and train herself to do it again.

The operation had gone well, but she still needed to get used to walking.

As she reached the other side of the room, she sat down on a chair and began panting. Her friend whooped and congratulated her.

It was the first time she had walked all the way across the room.

"Thanks, Dick. I'm glad you're here to help me." She thanked him. "Just wish Bruce or Dad were here."

"Don't worry, Babs, you'll be up and walking in no time. I guarantee they'll be proud." He reassured her. "Though, Bruce might not show it."

Babs chuckled a bit.

"Yeah, he's a hardass, but y'gotta love him." Babs replied.

"We're lucky he reciprocates." Dick said as he helped Babs to her wheelchair.

As he brought Babs out of the room, they both heard footsteps approaching from behind.

"Who do you think it is?" Dick jokingly asked the girl in the wheelchair that he was pushing.

"Well, the steps are too light to be rushed, so they're not running. Also too heavy to be Damian, plus he said he was going to stay at the Manor with Alfred and Tim. It's not Kate or Helena, or else we'd've heard them by now." Babs said, listing the possibilities of who's footsteps were behind them. "It's Jason."

"Nice guessing, Barb--" The male voice was interrupted by a loud crack and then a thud. Behind **Barbara Gordon, also known as Oracle and formerly Batgirl** , stood Dick with two electrified sticks, and on the floor was **Jason Todd, also known as Red Hood**.

Barbara sighed loudly and scolded the man who was now standing in front of her, after she had turned her chair around.

As Jason stood up, **Dick Grayson, also known as Nightwing** , got into a defensive position and warned the masked vigilante in front of him, "You're not supposed to be here. Bruce told us not to let you in."

"Well clearly," Jason began, as he stretched his neck, followed by his arms. "You didn't really enforce it. Either that or you're just really bad at following directions."

"I shouldn't have to enforce it, you should have known not to come here--" Dick began shouting as he got closer to Jason's face.

"Hey," Barbara tried to interrupt.

"Oh, really?" Jason challenged.

"Hey!" Barbara shouted, catching the attention of the clashing men in front of her. "Stop!" They obeyed.

"Fine." They both said in unison before turning to look at Barbara.

"Jason, why are you here?" She asked genuinely, hoping to find a way to get Jason to leave.

"It's Bruce," he said simply, immediately catching their attention. "There's something with him. In his blood. Cassie and Harper went to go find him," He looked at Dick in the eye, knowing that he, Tim, Dick, and Bruce were the only ones who knew about Harper and Cassandra. "Damian went to find Talia. Alfred, Tim, Helena and Kate stayed at the manor to try and find out what it could have been, Steph stayed at her apartment to protect Harper's brother and I, obviously, came to get you guys.

"He turned off all of his systems. We can't find him anywhere, we only know his vitals, and that's it. He's also encrypted his comms, and we're having a hard time getting through those."

"Alright." Barbara said with a blank expression and a monotone voice. "See you at the batcave."

 ** _[One and a half hours later, now]_**

"Alright, Dick, we're here." **Harper Row, also known as Bluebird** , spoke into the comms. "We haven't found any traces of Bruce, but we're one hundred percent sure someone was here."

"Okay, Harper. That warehouse is the closest I could find his signal. You'll have to search from there." The fellow vigilante replied with an eerie seriousness that was often heard in recent days.

"Alright. We'll search for him until we find him." Harper said, giving the man a sense of hope that he knew that they could fulfill.

"Thank you, Harper." The man replied.

"No problem, this is nothing. He helped me. Time to try to repay half of that debt." BlueBird said as **Cassandra Cain, A.K.A. Orphan** , pointed out a splatter of blood on the floor. "But he still owes me that training."

BlueBird knelt down and scanned the blood. The blood splatter was too large to have dropped from a bullet wound and didn't lead into a trail.

She figured that he was either hit by someone or something or that he had coughed it up.

"My best guess is that he coughed it up. There's no one here who could have hit him, they'd be unconscious right here. Dick, do you know what his vitals were like before he was lost?" Bluebird asked over the comm.

"They were completely normal. I heard him coughing, but Bruce has had the cold these past few days." The man responded. "He can't be coughing up blood from that."

"No," BlueBird said. "No, he can't." She was staring down the hallway at a door.

Orphan noticed BlueBird's gaze and followed it. She looked back at Bluebird and confirmed that they had the same idea.

Bluebird quickly looked back down at the blood, swiped her finger through it, reconfirming that it was recent, and stood up. Orphan and Bluebird exchanged looks before heading toward the door.

Although the hallway was not long, it felt as if it were taking forever to reach the end.

It seemed to stretch to impossibly long lengths, reaching miles, while the door seemed to shrink. Bluebird reached out toward the door, before stumbling to her knees.

Orphan caught her arm, and slowly lowered her down to the floor.

Bluebird shut her eyes tightly, and wailed in agony. In the front of her vision, she saw her brother.

"Cullen! What are you doing here?" She called out, only to have a bright flash blind her. What appeared next cut deep into her emotions, unleashing her pent up rage. "Cullen!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.

In her eyes, she saw her brother, tied up in a crucifix with his throat slit. On the floor in front of him lay the words Little Birdie Can't Guard The Nest.

"Cullen!" She cried out once more.

"Harper." A soft, feminine voice called out, and soon she felt someone hugging her from the side. "Harper." They said again, and she began to calm down, her real vision returning to her. "Not real."

Bluebird took quick, deep breaths as she scanned her surroundings. She was still in the warehouse, only a few feet from the door that seemed to have been a mile away only moments before.

She looked up at the woman who was holding her up, and giving a gentle side hug.

"Thank you, Cass." She said. "I-I don't know what happened." She quickly wrapped her arms around her partner, and released.

Orphan looked up at the door in front of them and scowled.

They both stood up and approached the door. They stopped, and once more exchanged glances. Bluebird raised her hand and signalled a countdown.

3... ... ...

2... ...

1...

Orphan burst the door open and both her and Bluebird rushed in. Bluebird held a large gun in her hands that let out large electric shocks to any target in the way while Orphan only had her fists ready.

The room did not contain what they expected, and even brought slight disappointment. It was empty, if only for a small end table, a sticky note on top with poorly written instructions, and Batman's cowl.

She read the note, but did not understand. It was an odd message, or perhaps a riddle.

"A beacon of hope, that lights up the sky, this family, it seems, are quite known to die." The note read. Bluebird examined it intensely, before lifting her head to briefly search the room by eye. There was nothing of note that she could find.

"Dick, his cowl is here. That's why you traced it here." She said into her comms.

A few moments passed before Orphan gained Bluebird's attention.

"Harper." She said. "Come...see."

Bluebird approached Orphan and looked at what she was signalling to. It was a hole in the wall. Bluebird got onto her toes and barely managed to look through the hole. It only allowed her to see one thing: Wayne Tower.

She'd have thought nothing of this had the building not suddenly been engulfed in flames after a few seconds.

Out of nowhere, static erupted from her comms.

"--Bird!--Breach--ayne Tower--ow!" The voice of what sounded like Dick Grayson said, and though half of the message was scrambled, she knew exactly what it meant.

"Come on, Cass, we gotta go to Wayne Tower." Bluebird said as she and Orphan began running out of the warehouse.

As they both ran across rooftops, Bluebird attempted to reconnect her comms to Dick, but to no avail.

They reached the Wayne Tower within only a few minutes and when they arrived, the magnitude of the situation was much worse than they had anticipated. Not only were the majority of floors on fire, but the blocks surrounding the tower were infested with rioters and other criminals. The streets closest to the tower harboured multiple warring factions, each controlling one side and battling the others.

To the north was the former District Attorney turned villain **Harvey Dent, also known as Two-Face** , holding his ground phenomenally, almost pouring into the other gangs' territory.

To the south was the infamous weapons dealer and club owner known as **Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, also known as The Penguin**. His forces were stronger, if only slightly, than Dent's gang, and were also beginning to pour into the territory of the east and west gangs.

To the east was the genius madman **Edward Nigma, also known as The Riddler**. His gang were equipped with top of the line equipment, but did not stand a chance against the incoming Penguin and Two-Face thugs.

To the west, surprisingly, was **Bane**. His forces were holding a small defensive as they focused more on actually breaking into the Wayne Tower. They were having trouble, as the hacking was, at the very least, inefficient and the steel doors may have been between three to ten feet thick.

"Alright, Cass," Bluebird began. "We gotta do this carefully. We gotta plan this--" By the time Bluebird noticed, Orphan was already down on the street fighting thugs. "I like your thinking." Bluebird said as she went down to join her partner.


	2. Issue 2: Wayne Crisis pt 2

**_[30 minutes before Wayne Tower went up in flames]_**

The Caped Crusader entered the empty room, expecting something much different than what he found. In front of him stood a mysterious figure, who seemed to be more than consumed by darkness, but absorbing light itself. They were a near pitch black figure, with bodily features that were loosely feminine, but it was still difficult to decipher anything about them.

They carried a small pistol in their right hand and what laid in front of them was the madman which the Dark Knight had thought he was pursuing.

"What have you done?" The Knight demanded from the person standing in front of him. Blood slowly dripped from his mouth, down to his chin, and finally landed on the large bat-symbol on his chest.

"No introductions?... I see." The person responded as they replaced their weapon into the holster on their right thigh. "Doesn't matter, you don't need to know who I am."

To the Knight, the warehouse around them seemed to darken, but he fought as hard as he could to stay conscious. It was a fight against a poison he had never experienced before. He let out a small grunt. "What--" He faltered. "have you...done?

"Why, I've killed the Joker." They said nonchalantly. "To be honest, I'm not sure why you haven't done it already." The Knight attempted to walk toward the person, but fell to one knee.

"I don't...kill." He argued. More blood slowly drained from his mouth. He wiped it off and tried to stand himself up.

"Well, Dark Knight, I beg to differ." They challenged before leaning closer to the Knight. "I call bull, and I have proof.

"Bruce."

 ** _[At Wayne Tower, Orphan and Bluebird, now]_**

"Orphan, we gotta hurry up!" BlueBird shouted as they each took on their own set of thugs. They were currently battling against the forces of The Penguin. As BlueBird blasted a few henchmen with her electricity gun, she called out, "How you doin', Cass?" In that moment, a thug had been thrown at and through the rear window of the sedan that BlueBird was standing atop of. "Awesome." She commented.

BlueBird knew full well that Orphan was capable of handling herself against nearly anything, but she just wanted to check in to make sure she was doing okay despite knowing that fact.

BlueBird quickly noticed that the Penguin's forces were dwindling, and thus decided that she needed to know where the man himself was.

She proceeded to do a sideways aerial flip off of the vehicle and shot at the group of henchmen in front of her while in midair before landing and charging the closest thug to her, slamming the butt of her gun to his forehead, knocking him down.

"Cover me!" BlueBird shouted out to Orphan, who quickly turned her focus to protecting her partner. The henchman that BlueBird had struck with her gun was thrown against a delivery van by the initial strike, followed by BlueBird rapidly advancing and pinning him against the van. "Where's Penguin?" She demanded, and only received a smirk in response.

"Why should I tell you?" He finally said, almost laughing. "You don't scare me."

BlueBird scowled.

"Cass, away from my left!" BlueBird shouted, and Orphan obeyed. As BlueBird kept her eyes locked at the thug's eyes, she grabbed her gun with her left hand, swung it outward, shot and pulled it back without looking. She had managed to hit the largest clump of henchmen, knocking them all unconscious. "They could be dead. You wanna be in a better position than them, you tell me where Penguin is, alright buddy?"

The thug nodded vigorously. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you!" He shouted quickly, with fear evident in his voice. "He's personally makin' moves on Riddler's guys, but he's got a grenade launcher and the biggest mercs I ever seen with 'im."

"Thanks." BlueBird said before striking him in the cheekbone with the butt of her gun, knocking him out. "Cass, pull back, Riddler's guys."

Both BlueBird and Orphan finished off nearby thugs and began heading east, toward the Riddler's dwindling territory.

As they were halfway there, explosions began erupting close to them, blowing up cars and setting off chain reactions. They both narrowly escaped each one, and quickly reached the border between the two controlled areas.

The interrogated henchman was right, Penguin was surrounded by large mercenaries. So large that it must have been inhuman.

BlueBird had only noticed them when it was too late. She had ran into one, stopped in her tracks, and looked up at the manning figure. The man had to be standing at least two feet taller than BlueBird.

"H-hi." BlueBird said, as she began backing away, but the man walked toward her.

Soon, her back hit a parked vehicle and she panicked. Within a second, she had pulled out her gun, only to have the man slap it away. It was launched toward the nearest building, and far, far out of her reach.

"Oh..." she said simply, waiting for the man to do something really, really bad to her. She held her hands at chest level, her fingers only slightly curled.

Just as BlueBird thought she was done for, Orphan suddenly flew out of nowhere toward the man's face, kicked it and immediately elbowed it before landing on the road, rolling, running a few feet, stepping onto a car door to boost herself backward and flying toward the man. She punched him in midair, causing him to spin around, giving BlueBird an opportunity. She quickly got on top of the vehicle behind her as the man stumbled, trying to refocus, and jumped toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a sleeper hold.

Orphan then proceeded to kick the back of each of his knees until they buckled. After he was now on his knees and nearly passed out due to BlueBird's surprisingly firm grip, Orphan stood in front of him and unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks while simultaneously avoiding his half-hearted and disoriented strikes.

After a few moments, he had passed out, allowing BlueBird to dismount and retrieve her weapon before the others, who were more focused on Riddler's gang, noticed their comrade was missing.

BlueBird and Orphan quickly made their way to Penguin, who they quickly found after their encounter, and knocked him unconscious before the other large men could notice. BlueBird dragged him into a nearby building as Orphan made sure no one noticed or followed them.

BlueBird placed the unconscious man on the floor in the lobby of an office building and tried waking him up by repeatedly slapping his face.

After a few attempts of no success, she made a comment, "Why isn't this working?" She exclaimed. "This is what they do in the movies and it works."

Orphan approached her and signalled for her to move before she sat him up against a wall and punched him in the face.

He jolted awake.

"Ah!" He shouted. "Who are you!? What did you do to me!? Where am I?!" He rubbed his recently punched cheek as he stared at the two vigilantes in front of him. He took time to focus, and then looked both of the women in front of him up and down. "More of 'em? I thought we had enough wenches in this damn city!"

BlueBird quickly took out her gun and almost struck him aside the head, but Orphan stopped her.

Orphan then kneeled down in front of him and started to place her right hand on his neck.

"What's she doing?! Get your hands off of me!" He shouted, but then she started squeezing and his shouts became screams of agony.

"What's going on here? Why is there a siege on the tower?" BlueBird demanded. Orphan let go of his neck, and he little man only spat. Orphan began to move her hand back toward his neck when he quickly objected.

"H-hold on! I'll tell you!" He pleaded. "We're here because we 'ave no choice. We don't know who did it, but all of our hideaways and precious lairs, all destroyed and all had messages to come here. We all want to find who did this to us." He told the women. "My iceberg lounge..." he whispered to himself.

"How do we get into the building?" BlueBird asked.

"Riddler ought to know. Bloke boasted about it. Only reason he can't get in is because he's being attacked from both sides, but now that you've weakened my damn forces, he ought to be in there-!" He began shouting, but Orphan punched him in the face, rendering him unconscious.

"Guess that's where we go next." BlueBird said as they made their way out to the street and snuck by the large mercenaries.


	3. Issue 3: Wayne Crisis pt 3

[30 Minutes before the siege on Wayne Tower began]

"What...proof..." The Dark Knight struggled with his words, barely able to stay on his knees. "There...is..."

"A lot...A lot of proof." The person in front of him said, standing up straight now. "Think back. KGBeast. His body was found dead and he had gone missing during your fight against him. You caused his death by enclosing him in that room, unable to escape.

"Remember the child whose parents you shot while you were working for Mother?" They continued, much to the Knight's dismay. "Basil Karlo--"

"He'll reform... he's... clay." The Knight argued.

"Oh yes, but he hasn't. He hasn't reformed, and his pile of clay is still in the same exact place you left it. Five months ago. Face it, he's dead." They responded quickly. "Victor Zsasz. Remember that part of the asylum that collapsed because of the explosives you put there to keep Killer Croc contained? Zsasz's cell was in that section of the asylum. He didn't get out in time. And you stood there and watched as he was crushed by debris.

"Solomon Grundy. You literally tore his heart out of his chest to stop him." They said to the Knight, who was now on all fours. "And people called him the monster."

The Caped Crusader finally looked up at his new adversary once more and watched as they removed their mask.

"And not last and certainly not least, Talia Al Ghūl. God, what a sight that was. Her own damn ceremonial sword. Your former lover! I don't even think Damian knows, does he? What about Nyssa?" They said to him, with an ounce of laughter in their voice. The Knight looked away in thought for a moment, but only a moment, and looked back at the person in front of him.

The woman in front of him.

"Who...are...you..?" The Knight asked, but his only response was the bottom of her boot to his face.

[Wayne Tower, Bluebird and Orphan, Now]

"Most of the people he left behind are focused on the remnants of Penguin's gang and all of Two-Face's gang. We have a small opening, but we need to get in quick and without being noticed and then find the Riddler." BlueBird explained her plan to get to the Riddler, who was now inside the Wayne Tower.

Orphan nodded and they both looked at the miniature battlefield that surrounded the flaming skyscraper.

They both observed the movements of the henchmen to find an opening, and when one appeared, they ran as fast as they could for the opened door on the side of Wayne tower.

As they entered the building, after closing the door behind them, they soon found themselves in a dark hallway, with a lit up door at the end. On the walls were doors to janitor's closets and bathrooms as well as a mailing room. At least that was what Bluebird thought it was, but she neglected to get a closer look for a good reason. What was in the room was likely useless.

Orphan and Bluebird continued walking down the hallway, both guessing to themselves as to what they'll find.

Orphan expected a moderate amount of resistance, but not too much as she knew the Riddler as a frail but smart man. She expected to win the fight within seconds. She had never seen him in person, though, all stories told by Bruce and Dick.

Bluebird, on the other hand, expected heavy resistance with high amounts of technology she may not have ever seen. She had never fought him, just like her partner, but she knew Riddler to be smart, calculated, and highly resourceful, if not crazy.

As the door approached, Bluebird felt a sense of nausea, sickening her to the point of which she fell onto her knees. Orphan took quick notice and got down with her, holding her tightly as Bluebird started to shake spastically.

Bluebird's vision was gone once again.

It showed the same scene as at the warehouse, but different. Her brother, Cullen, was still dead, nailed to a cross with his throat slit, the menacing words still painted on the ground in his blood.

Little Birdie Can't Guard The Nest.

They haunted her, brought torture just thinking about it, and now a new detail was added.

Stephanie Brown, AKA Spoiler, was also a vigilante in Gotham, and also Harper Row's best friend. They were roommates along with Cullen. She had shoulder-blade length blonde hair and a medium size body frame.

She was on the ground, sprawled beside the cross which held Cullen. She was wearing her purple and black Spoiler outfit. Surrounding her was a pool of crimson liquid, originating from her neck.

Her throat was also slit.

"S-Steph?" BlueBird asked, stammering over her words. "Stephanie?" She said louder as she approached the body, kneeling down next to her. BlueBird grabbed her friend's head and cradled it close to her as she began to cry.

She looked up toward Cullen and put her hand out toward him.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered.

She looked back down at Stephanie and saw something on her face.

It was a piece of paper taped to her left cheek.

Squashed, like a little pest. The note read.

BlueBird shut her eyes tight, and tried to suppress her crying, but she soon found herself sitting on the floor in the Wayne Tower building, in the dark hallway.

Sitting next to BlueBird, with her arms wrapped tightly around her, was Orphan. Orphan held BlueBird closely, while trying to tell her that she was going to be okay.

BlueBird looked up at her partner, who asked her a quick question. "You okay?"

BlueBird nodded.

She took her time standing up, and Orphan walked behind her, paying close attention.

They finally entered the door at the end of the hallway and found themselves at the lobby of the Wayne Tower.

"My, my," A voice called out. It's tone was light, with a slight sense of arrogance. "I guess you got my message."

The vigilantes had been expected.

"I know this may sound strange, coming from a man of my intellectual superiority, but I need help. Yours, to be specific."

Out of everything they expected and had been through since meeting while searching for mother, they had never expected to be working alongside the Riddler.m


	4. Issue 4: Wayne Crisis pt 4

**_[15 minutes before Wayne Tower went up in flames, Bruce Wayne's office, top floor of Wayne Tower]_**

"Wake up, Mr. Wayne." The woman called out to Bruce, trying to wake him up. "Mr. Wayne, we're not done talking, we still have a lot more to talk about. Specifically, about your little Bat-Family."

The Dark Knight slowly came to, acutely aware of where he was. He knew he was in trouble but he did not know at whose hand. They were female, and that was the only thing he knew about them.

"I mean look at them! Only one of them was really successful, Tim, but the other two? One of them faked his death, Dick, and the other one actually died! And what did you do to honour Jason? Absolutely zip-shit."

"I--" The Knight attempted to speak, but was quickly interrupted.

"No. Don't speak." She said. "You didn't do anything for Jason, and then he came back and he was mad, and I don't blame him one bit. I would be pissed too." She took a step back and pointed a gun-shaped finger gesture at the Knight's head. "But now he kills. And I know that what I do seems a bit hypocritical, killing heroes who kill and call myself the hero, but really I'm not a hero.

"I'm just someone who's pissed. The fuck. Off." They said, closing in on the Caped Crusader's face. "In this world, you're first."

The Knight looked out of the window into the outside world, knowing full well that his friends and family were searching for him and that they'd be there soon.

"Hey, Dream Knight, over here!" The woman said, snapping her fingers in front of his face. "Stop zoning off! I'm talking to you here!"

"Fine." He said, looking her in the eyes. "I'm all ears."

"Good." She said calmly, slowly turning her back to him. "Look at batgirl. Barbara, I mean. She got shot by the joker, spent at least a year in a wheelchair and when she was finally able to walk again, it only took two and a half years for her to get her back broken from Bane!"

As she looked back at him, she found him attempting to escape. He stopped once he noticed her gaze, causing her to give a slight smirk. He shrugged it off, and continued to try and escape, and she soon gave a small frown.

A swift kick to the head got him to stop, and she soon got down on her knees, relaxed her arms and stared at him quizzaciously. Although she had a completely blank expression on her face, she was mocking him to full extent.

"You can't escape." She said to him, in an extremely calm voice. "That shit that you're tied up in is the strongest, tightest thing that you'll ever be tied up in. Nothing can cut it, nothing can rip it, it doesn't stretch, it barely bends, et cetera." She explained, continuing with the blank expression and relaxed muscles.

He only scowled in response.

Silence followed for a few heartbeats.

"I know this is totally random and a bit weird, but this is unbelievably comfortable for some reason. Well, I mean when you're not tied up because it feels different, believe me I know the feeling of being tied up in this position, but just sitting like this? Feels oddly therapeutic." She said, breaking the silence, with jumbled speech. She suddenly straightened and stood up. "Anyway, still gotta talk to you about your little family."

"Especially the ones who are looking for you right now," she put her hand to her chin, trying to think. "What're their names? Harper and Cassandra?" The Knight shifted, if only barely noticeably, catching the attention of the woman. "Yes, them! Should be about now that they're searching for the place you were last, but they could be past that already. Who the hell knows? I have something for them, though.

"Something very special."

 _ **[Wayne Tower lobby, BlueBird and Orphan, Now]**_

"I need your brutish strength and combat skill," The Riddler said, pointing his question mark cane at Orphan in an exaggerated manner. "And you, BlueBird," he began as he placed his cane down, with both hands resting on the handle. "I must admit that your technological knowledge is _almost_ as good as mine, but it obviously doesn't rival. I'm building something and I need the opinion of a...lesser mind, but someone who still knows what they're doing."

"Well that was a backhand if I've ever heard one." BlueBird said simply.

"Oh, how I did not mean to offend, you certainly are the most technologically knowledgeable person I know, other than myself of course, but you certainly just don't match up to me." The Riddler continued, adjusting his lime green tie, trying to hide the disdain hidden in his eyes. The rest of his suit was green as well, but a shade or so darker with a white shirt under his jacket. He wore a dark green fedora that fit comfortably on his head, slanted slightly forward, covering the top of his forehead.

"Why should we help you?" BlueBird asked the obvious question, and the Riddler gave a sly smirk.

"Because we'll have a mutual benefit. You'll get the Batman and maybe defeat the person holding him hostage, and I'll finish my...personal mission that has something to do with what's in the basement of this tower." He said, taking a few steps closer.

Bluebird noticed the advance and reached for the gun on her back, much to the Riddler's dismay.

"Ah-ah-ah." He said, shaking his head slowly and dramatically. Suddenly all of the men in the room, of which Bluebird had only just noticed, raised their weapons and aimed them at the vigilantes at the door. "We can't have that, now can we?" Riddler said, pointing toward the weapon, silently telling Bluebird to relax her arms.

She obeyed.

"That's more like it. What I need you to do is just observe the device. Make sure it won't malfunction, make sure it's built properly while I handle something on the roof." The Riddler said to the two girls as he pointed toward the elevator. "Ladies first." He bowed.

The elevator conveniently opened at that exact time, and Bluebird and Orphan entered, wary of what may happen in the basement of the Wayne Tower. Bluebird knew the mainstream stigma of basements to be true, and Orphan knew an enemy taking a hero into a secluded area meant danger.

The Riddler stepped into the elevator without his guards and pressed the basement button before swiping a stolen keycard into the slot.

" _Access granted. Lucius Fox_." The automated voice in the elevator chimed, followed by the light sound of a bell. " _Basement level._ "

Soon, the elevator shifted and creaked, before slowly groaning it's way down to the basement. As Bluebird stepped out of the elevator, she saw the device and knew exactly what it was.

The digital timer, the jugs of clear liquid, the red sticks of dynamite, the clearly visible packs of C-4, and the wires taking up more space than the other components told BlueBird immediately that it was a bomb. And those components were only what she could see from the elevator.

Bluebird and Orphan quickly turned around toward the Riddler to see him aiming his cane toward them, though they did not know the threat of his simple cane.

Within seconds, the Riddler flipped a cap off of the very top of the flat handle to reveal what seemed to be two electric coils, with electricity bouncing off of them at a rapid pace within the cane itself.

"You will inspect this bomb and make sure that it will go off. It is highly unstable, but very, very devastative. The explosion will take this entire building with it. If not, then it'll take out all of the lobby, causing the building to collapse upon itself." Riddler explained, aiming his cane at both of the vigilantes standing in front of him. "And remember, I said you would get the Batman, not rescue him. Your mistake."

Bluebird stepped forward quickly and with her rifle sized gun in her hands within a second.

The Riddler shot at BlueBird with the electricity coming from his cane, but nothing happened. Bluebird still stood defiantly where she had been five seconds earlier.

"I handle electricity worse than this on a daily basis, do you really think I'm gonna have a suit that doesn't protect me from it?" BlueBird responded before charging him and smashing his face with the butt of her gun. "Teach you for trying to trick us." She mumbled as the incapacitated Riddler slouched down against the nearest wall.

"Cass, pull the red wire on the far left that's attached to the timer." BlueBird said quickly as she took the keycard from the unconscious Riddler's body. Orphan gave her a strange and concerned look. "I got a read on this thing the moment I saw it. Amateur at most. Saw the wiring configurations immediately, just needed to take him out before doing anything."

Orphan nodded and pulled the wire that Bluebird mentioned. Nothing happened and the timer flickered off, deactivating the bomb.

"Good, now we can finally get to the Batman." Bluebird said as Orphan entered the elevator and she pressed the top floor button.


	5. Issue 5: Wayne Crisis pt 5

**_[5 minutes before Bluebird and Orphan arrive, Wayne Tower top floor, Bruce's office]_**

"God, it's been over thirty-five minutes since they got to the warehouse, they should be here by now." The woman holding Batman captive said, groaning and complaining about the situation of having to wait for her preferred targets to arrive. "If they were true vigilantes, they'd be here by now."

Bruce scowled.

"They'll be here, and they'll put you down. Trust me. They know what they're doing." Bruce responded.

"Oh, you think so?" She said in a curious tone. "Well, we'll see, now won't we?"

She walked over to Bruce's desk and sat on top of it, facing him. She kicked her legs back and forth in boredom before looking around for anything interesting within sight and reach.

She couldn't find anything to catch her interest.

"God, you're boring." She blurted. "I guess I should stop saying that. I've been everywhere imaginable, and there've been no traces of a single higher being. But at the same time, I guess if there were a higher being, they'd be in a higher plane of existence, right? Nope, still wrong. Physical, of course, but celestial, truly divine beings? Not a chance. There's only one plane of existence and many, many, many universes.

"But I guess that's the problem of common expressions. Once it's ingrained into people's minds, they won't stop saying it, wether fact or not. Same with beliefs. At the core, people will always believe the same thing their entire life. No changing it."

"You're a lunatic."

"No, I'm right." She stood up and took a step toward him, leaning in at the same time. "Wanna know how I know? Well don't worry. I'll tell you when the others get here. It'll be one hell of a fuckin ride."

 ** _[Bluebird and Orphan, in the elevator, now]_**

"For a building that's on fire, I'm surprised this elevator still works." BlueBird said, breaking the silence for a moment, for it only to return. "So..." Bluebird still attempted to make dull conversation. "Cass...I—"

"Harper." Orphan interrupted. "No." Moments passed before BlueBird let out a large sigh and slid down the wall of the elevator and sat.

"This is weird, Cass." BlueBird said dryly, casting a thousand yard stare at the far wall. "These—these visions. Hallucinations. Whatever they are, they've never happened before. I don't know what's going on."

Orphan walked up to her and sat down right next to her, side-by-side. The small distance between them was quickly closed as Orphan slid closer.

"You're okay." She said. "What happened?"

"I...I don't know. Cullen and Steph were there but they were...dead." Bluebird tried to explain the horrifying visions, wishing not to dwell on them. "Their throats..." Tears began to form in Bluebird's eyes, and she hugged her knees, burying her face between them.

After a few moments, she lifted her head slightly and turned to look at Orphan. Orphan gave no response, other than a solemn nod. They sat in silence for a few heartbeats, the only sounds being the creaking and groaning of the elevator.

Out of sudden instinct, Harper reached into her pocket and felt around. After a moment, she found something that she didn't remember putting in her pocket. She took it out and examined it.

It was the note from the vision. She covered her mouth in disbelief and quickly tried to speak.

"No...Cullen! S-Steph!" She exclaimed in panic under her hand. Her thoughts scattered, and her tears formed faster. Orphan stood up and took Bluebird's earpiece and placed it in her own ear.

"Dick." She called out, no response. "Dick!" She called once more, and there was static for a heartbeat. "Dick!" She was shouting, and through the static she could finally hear the voice of Dick Grayson.

"Cassandra? Why are you on the comms? Is Harper okay?" He asked her rapidly, and she looked down at BlueBird, who was shaking beyond belief and nearly sobbing.

"No..." Orphan said after a moment of hesitation. "Apartment. Now."

"What? Why? I'm coming to the tower!" He said, deeply wondering why he would have to go to the apartment. He was currently racing over rooftops, trying to reach the Wayne Tower as fast as he could. It would be too big of a detour for him to go to the apartment.

"No! Cullen. Stephanie." Orphan said, and Dick stopped in his tracks, turned around and started sprinting. He knew Orphan didn't talk much, so when she did, he would have to listen. Her words were selective and her vocabulary limited, but her knowledge and general intelligence level was extensive. If she made a hard decision, she always somehow managed to make the smarter decision. Dick knew that, so when she commanded him to go to the apartment, that was what he was going to do.

Orphan took the earpiece out and tossed it to the floor as the elevator made a dinging noise, signifying that it was at its destination. She then picked BlueBird up off the elevator floor and waited for the doors to open.

As the two doors to the elevator slid to the side, the view was something they never expected to see.

In front of them was the remainder of the office of Bruce Wayne, destroyed, burnt and covered in soot. None of the books or pictures were understandable and the floors were littered with pages and pages of destroyed books. In the middle of the office, just in front of the desk, was Bruce Wayne, in the famous batsuit, with the mask off and tied up in a strange looking rope. In front of him, sitting on the desk, was a woman.

A woman who both BlueBird and Orphan guessed was the source of all the trouble.

"Hello, girls. I'm glad you're finally here." They said in an ominous tone as BlueBird and Orphan advanced. "Welcome to the fray.

"I've been waiting."


	6. Issue 6: Face Off! pt 1

[Bruce Wayne's office, Wayne Tower, Now]

"You wouldn't believe how relieved I am that you girls are the ones who came to save him. Also glad that you're the only ones, at that." The woman said. She was leaning against the desk in a laid back manner, as if they were simply acquaintances meeting up for a drink. As BlueBird, who was walking on her own now, and Orphan got closer, BlueBird began feeling dizzy, and nearly tripped.

"C-C-Cass...Orphan..." She began to say as she stopped and put her hand on the wall for leverage. "V-Vis-Vision..." She was leaning against the wall, bent over and clutching her stomach with her free hand. Her body was involuntarily shifting from side to side as she felt something coming on.

Orphan stopped and went to check on BlueBird, when BlueBird began swatting her away.

"Holy shit," the woman said, in what sounded like genuine concern. "Holy shit, Harper are you--"

 ** _Bang!_**

A quick kick to the chest from Orphan sent the woman flying over the desk and smashing into the wall behind it. She hit the floor with a thud before slowly standing up and muttering nonsense to herself.

Finally she spoke aloud. "Okay, so that's how it's gonna be, huh?" She vaulted over the desk and charged at Orphan. The woman attempted to jump at Orphan and tackle her, but instead Orphan ducked and kicked the woman in the stomach as the she flew above Orphan.

She landed on her face and rolled a few times before groggily forcing herself up, grasping at her stomach.

The woman attempted to speak, but instead only stood, gaping.

"Don't. Say. Her. Name." Orphan said to the woman before quickly approaching and throwing a fake punch, getting the woman to block before she took advantage and kicked the inside of the woman's knee that was farthest from Orphan, buckling it. As the woman was on her one knee, Orphan began unloading punches, left and right, onto the woman's head, knocking her side to side.

Finally, after Orphan realized that the woman had taken enough punches, she took a brief step back before lunging forward and smashing the woman's face with her knee.

The woman fell onto her back and started groaning.

Orphan stood up straight and looked around the office. Behind her to the left was Batman, in front of her was the doorway out, and just right of that doorway was BlueBird, still clinging to the wall.

Orphan started to advance on Bluebird, when she was interrupted.

"Y'know, I was a Robin once," The woman called out as she slowly got up from the floor. "You don't know what I've seen." She took a deep breath. "You don't know what I've been through." She slowly walked around the room groggily, speaking in a weakened tone. Everyone else was still, staring at the woman. "Honestly, I've seen Batman after Batman killing. Whether by accident or purposely, it doesn't matter. I've seen it and I've come to stop it from happening to any of the other earths.

"You see, as I was working for him—sorry, with him—" she gazed at Bruce. "I realized that the only reason that crime was so rampant was because he existed. Joker? Fell into that vat of acid because of Batman. In every earth where he exists." She paused for a few heartbeats. "Actually no, there's one where _Bruce_ dies at the hands of Joe Chill and Thomas and Martha Wayne are still alive. Martha becomes the Joker though. But that doesn't stop the fact that all crime spikes in Gotham happen because of the Batman, wherever he exists."

"You're wrong!" Bruce called out as he struggled. "I am the one controlling the crime! Crime has gone down!"

"No," She said in a lighthearted voice. "Not at all. Every earth I've been to has strived without Batman, some even without the entire Justice League, which I've done. You wouldn't believe what it's like without them. _Phenomenal_!"

"You're lying! You're just another crazed freak!" BlueBird shouted as she came back from her brief spell of dizziness, but she was only ignored.

"So, Bruce, you wanna see your parents again? _Alive_?" The woman was now standing opposite of Orphan and Blueird, behind Bruce's desk. "Because I can do it. You wouldn't believe how many places I've been where Joe Chill never even existed. You and your parents survived. I can bring you to one of those places for a short period of time and reunite you. Just stop being Batman, and that's it. Or else, I'll have to kill you.

"And believe me, I really don't like killing. It honestly appals me. But sometimes something has to be done, and I was the only one both capable _and_ willing to do it. I gave up my life for this, Bruce. I gave up everything I ever had to do this! Everything I've ever known and loved! I had to abandon them on this goddamn crusade because Bruce Wayne never knows how to get over it!" She was shouting nearly at the top of her lungs, and Bruce only sat silently, listening to the woman's fit of yelling.

Bruce smirked for a moment before making a quiet comment. "You're in over your head."

With full confidence, Bruce quickly stood up and tried to force his arms away from his body in an attempt to snap the rope around him. Instead, his arms remained constrained to his sides and the woman simply stood in place.

"Was—was something supposed to happen?" The woman asked with a mocking curiosity, snapping out of her self-induced fury. Bruce slowly got down onto his knees and started reworking his plan. "I told you before that the stuff you're wrapped in is unbreakable," Her words were harsh, quick, and filled with the anger that had been shown only moments before. "Not even the Omega Beam could break it." The woman took a small device from her pocket and tapped a few buttons before carefully tossing it to the ground a few feet away from her.

She slowly walked around the desk toward Bruce and shook her head. "For that, we're gonna need some discipline." A series of beeps and ticks came from the small device as the woman slowly approached it and stopped just next to it. "This device," she began, now with a soothing, gentle voice, as if talking to a kindergartener. "Creates a stable...doorway to other earths." A small beam shot out of the device, about six feet high, and stopped. A few moments later the beam widened and showed a different setting than what was actually behind it. "Far as I know, the first and only of it's kind." She now sounded like a stereotypical scientist, excited by her own work, but trying to hide the joy.

The image in the strange beam cleared and showed what looked like an armoury. The woman looked into the image and paused, as if thinking of what weapon to use against them. Finally, she reached in and grabbed a weapon. BlueBird was astonished, and slightly creeped out that the woman's arm did not reappear on the other side of the image.

The woman pulled her choice of a weapon out of the image, picked up the device, flipped a switch to turn it off and placed it in a pouch on her waist.

The weapon she had grabbed was a traditional Japanese katana, perfectly fit in its scabbard. The scabbard itself was a bright ice white with an intricate, thin black floral design from the top to the bottom. The hilt was typical of a katana, but had a white wrap over a grey base, the pommel was a flat metal. The guard was simple as well, as it was flat, small and ice white.

She started moving slowly and gracefully with the prestigious and delicate weapon in her hands. She placed the bottom of the scabbard on the ground and knelt down in front of it, holding the handle with both hands to keep the weapon vertical.

She began muttering incomprehensible words before standing and placing the scabbard in a slot on her waist and unsheathing the sword. At the base of the blade, just above the guard, were a series of unreadable inscriptions on both sides of the blade.

"I kill relentlessly, but I fight with honour!" She shouted, with a hardy, challenging voice, as she readied her weapon. She moved closer to Bruce, but kept a weary eye on Orphan and Bluebird. As she got close enough, she began focusing more on Bruce. She was finally within striking distance.

Her blade seemingly gleamed with anticipation, the glimmering metal waiting for a single slash to bring any warrior down. Both of her hands were wrapped firmly around the handle, but not tight enough to turn her knuckles white. Even in the stance she was currently in, she seemed graceful, and deadly.

She was still for a few moments, soon followed by a flurry of sudden ferocity.

In a split second, she raised her sword above her head and made a swift strike downward, leaving Bluebird and Orphan stunned.

A loud thud circled the office, making way for something truly unbelievable.


	7. Issue 7: Face Off! pt 2

"Well, Bruce, you were trained by the best warriors of this planet." The woman spoke. In front of her was Bruce Wayne in a maskless batsuit on the floor. Bluebird and Orphan were left stunned.

She had cut the rope that she had previously claimed unbreakable. Her claim was only further proved by the batman himself being unable to break it, despite his attempt at burning it with the miniature heating elements in his palms, cutting it with the blades attached to both of his forearms and ripping it.

Then she just cuts it as if it were butter.

Bruce Wayne looked around, shocked at the fact that he had not been touched by the blade that had just set him free.

"I was trained by the best warriors of multiple planets. And I'm sure you know that when a warrior is challenged to a duel, to decline such a challenge would be to lose all honour." She slowly walked backward, placing her sword in ready position, resting the blade on her upper arm, facing behind her toward the roof, both hands still firmly planted on the hilt.

"I won't participate in your ridiculous games!" Bruce shouted as he began to stand up.

With a quick strike undetectable to an untrained eye, she smashed the flat pommel of her sword against his forehead. "This isn't a game, Bruce." She took a step back and went into a readied stance; her arms raised to her side with her blade pointing toward Bruce, both hands still firmly planted on the handle.

"I, Phantom Shadowstar, Rin of Foreign Earth, challenge thee, Bruce Wayne, Batman of Local Earth, to a duel to the death, in sacrifice of honour and the title of protector of that party's domain. Interference by accompanying parties of either combatant shall result in maiming or death of the party causing interference. Victory is only attainable if one combatant kills the opposition. Declining this duel shall result in the loss of honour and the death of a coward, and the duel shall be partaken by one of the accompanying parties until all are dead but for one. What say you, Bruce Wayne, Batman of Local Earth?"

"Fine," Bruce said begrudgingly. "I'll play your damn game."

"Batman, this isn't a game!" Bluebird shouted as she approached. "You'll die!"

"Bluebird, enough! Stand down!" He shouted, turning to her as she only continued to come closer. "Harper! Stop this now!" He was furious at her attempt to warn him of a threat he was already fully aware of.

"Bruce, you treat this as a game and—"

The loud screech of a blade flying through the air interrupted BlueBird from her rant. Bluebird stopped in her tracks and looked down at herself.

Her jaw dropped as she stumbled back and fell down into Orphan's arms.

"Cass..." she muttered, barely able to force the word to form. "C-Cass..." she said once more, before slowly going silent.

Orphan looked up at Bruce with pure fury in her eyes. No one could see breaths from Bluebird, her blood slowly drained from her body, and some of her skin began to go cold.

Her eyes rolled back before closing and Orphan began to panic even more.

No responses came from the limp girl, and Orphan soon ripped her mask off, quickly throwing it aside and revealing the face of a young, barely eighteen year old girl.

Orphan held Harper close and cradled her gently, simply murmuring to herself. "Harper..." she repeated over and over again. "Harper..." tears slowly formed in the eyes of Orphan. "Harper..." Orphan held Harper's head close to her chest and hugged her body tightly, never wanting to let go. "Harper..."

"Cassandra—" Bruce attempted to speak.

Orphan interrupted him with muttered, indecipherable words.

She repeated them over and over, louder each time until she was finally looking up at the woman who had slashed her best friend with a katana.

With large tears streaming down her face and her limp best friend laying in her lap, she shouted with intense ferocity.

" ** _KILL HER_**!"

"Cassandra, I—" Bruce tried to reason, but to no avail.

" ** _KILL HER NOW_**!"

After a moment of hesitation, Bruce turned to Rin and raised his fists.

A sly smirk rose on her face as she and Bruce slowly circled each other.

Cassandra pulled down her hood and slowly pulled Harper off to the side of the room to sit against a wall.

Cassandra held Harper close to her, placing Harper's head on her chest as she hugged her tightly, never wanting to let go.

Harper's blood covered the majority of her suit and weapons, soon coating some of Cassandra's uniform as well.

With Harper's mask having been removed, Cassandra reexamined her face, as she had done a million times before. She had memorized every detail of Harper's face, but now, now that Harper was dead, if not nearly there, she seemed to be seeing her face for the first time.

Cassandra slowly brushed some of Harper's hair out of the way and slowly ran her hand down her face. Along the way she gently wiped away a spurt of blood that had sprayed onto her face, and attempted not to begin sobbing.

She continued to run her hand down Harper's face and found herself at Harper's nose ring. Cassandra formed a small smile as she played with the ring for a few moments, remembering the first time she had really noticed it.

They were sitting on Harper's couch in her apartment. They sat cross-legged, facing each other. Harper was working on sheets from her school and Cassandra was simply watching, fascinated by Harper.

It was the first time they really had time to sit in peace and quiet since defeating Mother only two and a half months prior.

As Harper focused on textbooks and memorizing details of stuff Cassandra did not understand, Cassandra focused on Harper, memorizing details of her face and her behaviour. She remarked Harper's light blue eyes, and became lost in thought.

She moved slightly closer, and found her attention captured by Harper's nose ring. She reached out and used a single finger to pull on it gently, to see exactly what it was.

Although she didn't look up at Cassandra right away, Harper immediately smiled.

Cassandra scooted even closer and leaned in to get a better look at the piercing, gently playing with it, making sure to try and not hurt Harper, as she knew the nose ring was pierced through her nose.

After a few heartbeats, Harper finally looked up, amused by Cassandra's curiosity.

The smile on her face was permanently ingrained in Cassandra's memory and the sight of the nose ring on her limp friend brought back that memory.

Cassandra soon realized that those memories would never happen again. She would never be able to see Harper's smile ever again, nor would she be able to play with her ear rings as she watched TV, or her nose ring as she studied.

She would never see her bright blue eyes shine the way they did when Harper got excited.

Cassandra would never see her brush her hair out of her face the way she always did when it was wild, nor see Harper's hair fly up as she would huff and puff out of frustration.

Cassandra kept slowly running her hand down Harper's face and finally reached her chin. In this situation, everything Cassandra was seeing and feeling felt new, different.

She remembered all the films she and Harper would watch. The funny films, the scary films, the weird films. They watched all of them. Most of the time in the apartment, but sometimes they would go to the theatre and watch new films on a gigantic screen in a room for over a hundred people.

Cassandra enjoyed watching films with Harper, for many reasons.

It relaxed her, as she knew that all the films were fiction, and she could just not focus on the real world and focus on the events of the films. The movement, the settings, the emotions. She would be immersed in the films and felt deeply connected with some of the people in the films.

Another reason was that she was able to be close to and spend time with someone she felt safe with. Someone she cared about.

Now that person she cared about was bleeding to death in her lap, and remembering all those films, she recounted one thing that a lot of them had in common.

Cassandra focused on Harper's face, thinking of all the wonderful times they had spent together.

Cassandra ran her finger's through Harper's hair one last time.

She leaned in closer, bringing her face merely inches away from Harper's before pausing. She took a moment to reminisce on all the good memories that had together before continuing to lean in further, closing her eyes on the way.

Her lips slowly made contact with Harper's surprisingly soft lips, and after a few moments, Cassandra slowly pulled away and waited.

She stared intently at Harper, desperately waiting for her to wake up. Anticipating the moment where Harper miraculously opened her eyes and Cassandra would be able to stare happily into them once again.

"But..." she muttered. "But..." nothing was happening. "B-but... but the films!" Cassandra panicked and tried kissing Harper once more. "The films!" She shouted, furious, sorrowful and intensely disappointed at the outcome of her decision. She leaned in and gave one more hopeful kiss. "It was supposed to work! Like in the films!"

Nothing.

"Harper..." tears began flowing again, and Cassandra began to sob. "Harper the films!" She hugged and squeezed Harper tightly in her arms. "Harper, the films! It worked in the films..." her voice died off into a quiet sob.

After a few moments of quiet sobs and hugging her beloved friend tightly, Cassandra finally looked up at the battle ensuing above her.

Batman was in the worst shape she had ever seen him in and the woman, named Rin, was still in peak form, seemingly better than she was before.

Cassandra knew she had to do something. She had to fight for her best friend. She had to get back at the woman who took something very special to her.

She had to get revenge, and that was the only thing on Cassandra's mind.

As Cassandra stepped closer to the battle between the Protector of Gotham and a mysterious, supposed inter-dimensional assassin. The Assassin quickly took notice of her approach and quickly sent Bruce off to the side of the room with a swift but extremely powerful kick to the jaw.

"Did you not hear of the terms of the duel, Cassandra Cain?" She demanded, holding her sword down to her side with only one hand. "Any interference shall result in maiming or death."

Cassandra remained stoic, trying to hide her puffy red eyes and streaks of tears with her hood pulled further over her head than usual. Her arms were at her sides with fists clenched tightly, nearly turning her knuckles white under her fingerless gloves.

The assassin in front of her smirked, making only a single remark. "You have a death wish, Cass." Cassandra, with her mouth and chin being the only visible parts of her face, grinned in challenging approval. "So be it." The woman said simply before entering a ready position.

"I, Phantom Shadowstar, Rin of Foreign Earth, hereby recondition the rules of the duel—"

"Dishonourable," Cassandra said, interrupting the assassin at the beginning of her duel speech. "Fight."

"I am no dishonourable fool!" The assassin argued.

"Fight." Cassandra remained firm in her position with her arms at her sides. "Now."

The assassin almost spoke up to argue against Cassandra, but felt it would be of no use. The tone of Cassandra's voice and her choice of words, in the few she used, insisted they fight at that moment.

The assassin spun her sword overhead once, purposely not attempting to strike anything, before making a quick horizontal strike to her right, attempting to slice Cassandra in two.

Instead, Cassandra leapt into the air over the sword, spinning in midair and landing on her feet, facing the assassin who in one swift move, not pausing for even a millisecond, spun her entire body around and attempted to make a straight thrust into Cassandra. Cassandra, sidestepped to the left and jumped over the sword once more, stomach down, and kicking the assassin in the face once with each foot.

She landed to the right of the assassin and waited for her next move, which was to pull back and try a downward stroke toward Cassandra's left shoulder. Once again Cassandra sidestepped, but to the right, allowing the sword to slice into the floor. The last foot in length of the sword was jammed into the floor.

Cassandra spun 180 degrees to the left, putting her back to the assassin and placing her right foot on the middle of the sword itself and making a fast and wide arc with her left foot, connecting her heel to the assassin's face. The assassin stumbled back as Cassandra continued in her swift movement, spinning another 180 degrees to the left and stepping off of the sword.

Cassandra was now on the left side of the assassin.

As the assassin stumbled, she kept a strong grip on the sword, removing it from the floor. However, she did not fall to the ground.

As the assassin regained balance, she realized Cassandra's fighting potential. If she continued to go at her average, Cassandra would win easily.

The assassin needed to bring on her own full potential.

Cassandra saw herself in a winning position. Her opponent had some very visible bruises on her face, a bloody nose, eyebrow, lip and a broken cheekbone.

What came next was a move that Cassandra could not have expected. The assassin did nothing incredibly special but caught Cassandra off guard due to her speed and strength.

The assassin spun with her blade out, barely missing Cassandra as she ducked out of the way. The assassin kept spinning with the blade in the exact same position. As the blade passed Cassandra, who was still leaning back to avoid the sword, she grabbed it out of midair in an attempt to stop it and gain an advantage by disarming the assassin.

Instead of Cassandra gaining an upper hand, the assassin did as she very quickly lunged at Cassandra, slamming her fist down onto her face.

Cassandra fell to the ground hard, slamming against the floor so hard that she heard it groan in protest to the battle even worse than before.

The assassin attempted to stab down into Cassandra with a downward thrust, but barely missed as Cassandra rolled away just in time and attempted to get to her feet. Before she could get up, the assassin punted Cassandra in the head as she was on her hands and knees.

Disoriented, Cassandra tried to focus, but had immense trouble. She looked around and saw the assassin slowly approaching her, her sword slung over her shoulder and being held with only one hand.

Cassandra rolls onto her stomach and begins to crawl away. Just as she thinks she's far enough, the assassin steps on her left ankle, stopping her in her tracks. Cassandra panics and looks around frantically, hoping for something useful that would be within arms reach, but the was nothing. She was right next to Bruce Wayne's desk, but everything was burnt. There was nothing of use.

Except for Harper's mask.

Cassandra stared down the eyes of the mask for a few moments, debating on grabbing it. For a heartbeat she removed her eyes from the mask and looked over at Harper, who hadn't moved at all since Cassandra had been laying with her.

Cassandra grabbed the mask hastily and looked at Harper one more time before slipping it on and adjusting and clipping it so that it fit and wouldn't come off. What Cassandra had not realized before was that the eyes were actually small screens that displayed white on the outside and screens and commands on the inside. Some of the commands that she had seen immediately were for Harper's weapons.

The screens lit up with the word "Scanning" in large bold letters, and a small horizontal beam of light crossed over Cassandra's eyes.

"Welcome, Cassandra." Words were laid across the screens, greeting Cassandra.

Within seconds, a voice recording surprised Cassandra. It was playing through the edges of the mask, quiet enough so that no bystanders could hear but loud enough that Cassandra could hear it clearly.

"Hey, Cass, its Harper. I knew you'd be curious and put this thing on one day. Please be careful with it and please take it off, I'll likely need it soon. Thanks in advance!" The recording was of Harper. Cassandra almost wept at hearing the sound of her best friend's voice one more time.

But she was quickly reminded of the situation at hand.

Her life was in danger and she needed to fight the crazy assassin woman with a katana.

Cassandra slowly stood up with no interruptions, as the woman had actually taken her foot off of Cassandra's ankle, and welcomed the challenge with open arms.

"You're a fool, Cassandra," the woman shouted as she got ready for the battle that was to come. "Just because you wear her mask doesn't mean that you're stronger because of it. Only dumber."


	8. Issue 8: Apprentice

[Location Unknown. Date Unknown. Earth-6612364]

"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." A low, stern, deeply masculine voice echoed through the shadows. "Remember all of your old habits. Don't actively prevent them. Focus on building new habits and in the process forget the old." The loud screeching of a sword being unsheathed shot through the air.

Two sets of footsteps crept through the room, one set was calm, slow and paced while the other was frantic, rushed and panicked. The unsheathing of the sword belonged to the calm set of footsteps as the panicked ones already had their sword ready.

"Employ your time in improving yourself by others' writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have laboured hard for," The voice said once more, in more of a scolding tone. "Everything was invented to be used. All the skills you know were invented to be used. Use them."

A sharp sigh came from the owner of the panicked footsteps before a rush of motion caused a chain reaction of loud clangs of metal on metal before a thud on the ground. The calm footsteps kept walking as the panicked ones disappeared. A clunking noise came from a far wall as lights finally lit up the rectangular, windowless room.

Standing by a large lever on the southern wall was a man looking into the centre of the room. He stood tall, at about six feet and two inches, with a full head of light grey hair and some small, scruffy grey stubble around his jaw, upper neck and his mouth. His blue eyes seemed dull and his posture dictated otherwise, but he was still fit and in perfect shape.

On the floor in the centre of the room was a woman. She was sprawled out on her back, staring up at the high ceiling. In her right hand was a traditional Japanese katana with ice white wrap over a dark grey leather base on the handle, and a series of small inscriptions near the guard.

The woman was also tall, at about five feet and ten inches tall, with a thin but slightly muscular frame. Her hair was shoulder length and jet black.

She took a few deep breaths before violently throwing her sword toward the wall to her right. It stabbed a foot deep into the wall and stuck. She put her palms to her forehead and sighed heavily.

The man grabbed a scabbard from below the lever and threw it at the woman. "Clean up," he said to her as he made for the door across the room. "See me in the hall when you're done, I want a word with you."

The woman spent the next half hour cleaning up the sweat and blood from the floors and pulled her sword out of the wall. As she exited the room with her katana in her ice white, black floral decorated scabbard attached to her waist, she looked left and right for her trainer. He was nowhere to be seen.

"You're weak, Rin," his voice boomed, but the location of the source was an absolute mystery. "You're slow. A disappointment." She looked up and down, left and right and down the halls for him, but to no avail. "I regret bringing you in."

"Master, what are you—"

"I thought you would be like Damian. I was a fool to think that," he stated harshly. "I was a fool to think that you could be a worthy heir to the cowl."

That comment cut deep. She had trained for years on end to become a better fighter. To become the new Robin. After Damian had died, she was taken in and trained ruthlessly to become as good as Damian. If not better.

"Over the past year and a half you have not progressed any further." As Rin neared the end of the hallway, she stopped herself at the dead end. She screamed in frustration, anger and sorrow. She thrashed her arms about, punching the walls, ripping her knuckles wide open. "You are a disgrace."

Splatters of blood tainted the walls of the hallway as Rin kept punching. Over and over, she wailed at the concrete, now focusing on the wall the cut off the hallway.

One by one her knuckles cracked, and then shattered, sending immense jolts of pain up her arms. Of which she completely ignored. Though her knuckles were shattered she kept punching. Filled with rage, directed at her master. As she punched, she recalled many events from her times during training.

Multiple times she's been relentlessly punished for simple mistakes such as missing a step during a free run course or improperly holding a sword by an inch during sword fights. Her punishments were always a series of lashes or beatings. Cleaning the training area was not even a punishment compared to other occurrences of her mistakes.

Finally she stopped punching and fell to the ground, crying.

"Are you done foolishly breaking your hands?" He asked, disappointed.

"Yes... master." She said silently.

"Good." He said in a neutral tone. "Now pick yourself up and go to your quarters." You've had enough for today." He paused for a moment. "We both have."

Rin nodded and stood up slowly. She wiped away her tears with her right arm and gently managed to pick up her sword. As she began to walk the other way down the hall, a large tremor shook the facility she was in. She looked around cautiously and panicked slightly.

"Master! What's—"

"It's fine, Rin! Just get to your quarters!" Her Master said over the speakers.

"But—"

"Go!" He shouted.

Rin obeyed and began running down the halls to her personal quarters. They were small, with a bed and dresser on one side and a toilet and sink on the other.

Over the speakers, another, different voice boomed. A voice she had never heard before.

"It's over Bruce! You can't escape this time! We're taking you in and you're going to pay for your crimes!" The voice shouted, making Rin briefly question both whoever this person was and question her Master.

Rin waited in her quarters for a few minutes before her Master showed up, and when he did he was bruised and bloody. He fell down, and as he fell Rin caught him.

"Rin. In my quarters, there is a button under my desk. Press it. It will open a passage to my old armour and a sword I made for the next Robin. Take the sword and the armour. They're yours now." He said to her quickly. "Just escape. I'll hold off the League, just go." Rin could only nod before he pushed her away. She grabbed her sword and began running down the halls. She reached his quarters and quickly searched for the button he had told her about. Finally she found it and pressed it as fast as she could. On the opposite wall, a passage opened. She ran down it and found a display case of pitch black armour and next to it a sword.

In front of the sword was a plaque. On it, it read "For Rin, Nth Metal sword." Rin's jaw dropped slightly as she examined the sword. Quickly, as she remembered the severity of the situation, she used the butt of her old sword to smash the glass and claim the new sword. The moment she touched the handle, she felt reinvigorated. Her hands were no longer battered, and her bruises given to her by her master had slowly disappeared. She smiled lightly before smashing the glass to the armour.

As she put the armour on, it somehow resized itself to fit to her perfectly. She wondered what it was made of before quickly running out of the passage.

As she exited through the opening, she was confronted by a tall man in a green hard light suit floating in front of her. He had brown hair and a stern look in his face. His mask, albeit pointless, somehow emphasized his angered expression.

"Listen, kid, I know you think Bruce..." He paused and looked down for a quick moment. "Your mentor is right and he's all good but he's not. He's done some very evil things. He's killed innocents without batting an eye. Look at yourself as well. He kidnapped you, beat you and trained you relentlessly just so you could do his dirty work for him." The man explained, but Rin refused to listen. "I can show you the things he's done. You just have to trust me. I'm telling the truth and I want to show you what the truth is."

"Ok..." Rin said silently. "Fine. But if you're lying I'll kill you on the spot."

"I don't doubt it."


End file.
